Gunmen attacked a church in Nigeria, killing at least two people and abducting the pastor and several congregants, police and witnesses said on Wednesday, days after 25 girls were kidnapped from a boarding school.
The Tuesday evening assault in the town of Eruku, in central Nigeria, increases pressure on the government, which is facing criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened military action over what he calls persecution of Christians.
Rapper Nicki Minaj on Tuesday urged global action to protect religious freedom. Speaking at the U.S. embassy to the United Nations, the Trinidad-born artist, who lives in New York, said that in Nigeria “Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed.”
Nigeria is battling an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, a wave of abductions and killings by armed gangs mainly in the northwest, and deadly clashes between mostly Muslim herders and largely Christian farmers in its central belt.
The government says Washington’s designation of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” distorts its complex security landscape and overlooks efforts to safeguard freedom of religion for all communities.
In the latest incident, police rushed to the scene after gunfire was reported at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and found one victim shot dead inside the church and another in nearby bushland, said Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police spokesperson for Kwara state.
Witnesses told Reuters they saw at least three church members lying dead.
“They later rounded up some worshippers, including the pastor, and took them into the bush,” parishioner Joseph Bitrus said by phone, without specifying how many people were seized.
GUNFIRE ERUPTS DURING SERVICE, VIDEO SHOWS
A video posted by a local news outlet and verified by Reuters showed a Christ Apostolic Church service cut short by bursts of gunfire, sending worshippers scrambling for cover. Armed men can be seen entering the church, seizing people’s belongings as shots ring out.
The governor of Kwara state has requested the rapid deployment of additional security forces following the attack, his spokesperson said.
Separately, authorities have yet to locate the 25 girls abducted by gunmen who stormed the predominantly Muslim Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in northwestern Kebbi state on Monday.
Vice President Kashim Shettima was due to travel to Kebbi on Wednesday to meet local officials and parents of the missing students.